it's beginning to look a lot like heartbreak

And so this is Christmas eve, and I am quite simply exhausted. It was a big night last night, and it's been a big week. Heck, it's been a big year. I'm mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. But it's lovely to be home. For the first time we're not all together - the married sister and her husband are having a white Christmas in London. We did our family Christmas traditions in Pauanui at the start of the month before they left - these days that consists of brunch - frozen croissants left overnight to prove, and then baked fresh in the morning, mini pain au chocolat, wood smoked salmon, cherries and strawberries. This year we also had bubbles and my softly softly scrambled eggs, alongside delicious ciabatta and avocado. Here in Auckland, Mum's Christmas quilt has pride of place on the lounge and the angel I made as a 5 year old still adorns the tree.

My older sister in recent years has been responsible for recreating Grandma's Christmas pudding, but it might just be boxing day for that this year. And once the 26th rolls around I'll be genuinely excited about my month in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

The last week I've been too busy catching up with friends and eating snacks and beer and wine for dinner to be creating masterpieces in the kitchen, however I did whip up a salad of broccoli roasted with chilli and smoked paprika, feta, iceberg lettuce and good olive oil.

With the move away from traditional Christian notions of Christmas, it's always nice to hear about modern interpretations on each family's Christmas traditions. What are you up to? My focus this year has simply been a focus on getting through, which thankfully has included catching up with my dearest friends. I'm also working on keeping my liver in tact. 2010 has been a year of dizzying highs and crushing lows, so for Christmas I'm looking forward to sleeping in and a relaxing food-filled day.

I hope wherever you are you have a good one. Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas.